Great Customer Service Experience
I had a great customer experience today. Fired up to find the owner of an out of print book store had debited my plastic for less than the original amount because the hardback was light, falling into a lower shipping class, and had written a mail advising such and thanking me personally for my custom.
Hello,
Thank you very much for your order. Due to the fact that this book is lighter in weight than average there is a reduction in the quoted postage. Postage will be £2.00 making the total charged to your card £16.00.
Book will be mailed 1st class today (Sat).
Thanks again, much appreciated,
Dave
RIVENDELL BOOKS
2 Kingscliffe Rd
Grantham
Lincs
NG31 8ET
UKPhone: +44(0)1476 401549
Enjoyable User Experience
What makes this all the more enjoyable a user experience is I'm able to keep a promise after having been let down by W H Smith, who let me go through the entire online ordering process for a book which they informed me was in stock and would be delivered in two working days, only to be advised a day later the book was out of print and my plastic had not been debited — after I'd told the person for whom I'd ordered it to expect delivery early next week.
Pleasantly Surprised
One of the ironies I find with the Web is the ease with which one can reach out and communicate with anybody of any nationality almost anywhere in the world and the utterly impersonal process to which I have become accustomed when shopping online. I was pleasantly surprised to find a human being behind the Internet counter, and a courteous, honest and grateful one to boot.
The Price of Honesty
I felt valued as a customer. And therefore this guy and his service will now be my first port of call whenever I order a book over the Web. He has won my custom through an act which can never be quantified in monetary terms and which is extremely difficult to portray online: honesty. But perhaps it is inaccurate to say the act couldn't be quantified; it actually cost him just £1.50.
